The Generation Gap
Disavowing the square world has, of course, always been something at which angst-laden youngsters excel. If the subject matter of these three selections is any indication, then 1967 and 1968 was a happy time indeed to be putting down the plastic people.
1. The Things, Jazz-Rock With Soul (Ray Pro)
We’re gonna play that new sound,
The sound of Jazz-Rock With Soul.
This is our music.
And it’s for generations now,
And the ones that follow.
Ah, young men. Young men, with their solemn proclamations and their maracas.
The Things succeed with a primeval form of garage-rock - if not with the more problematic concept of “Jazz-Rock With Soul.” Though their version of jazz basically translates into screaming organ solos and drum breakdowns, the Things still beat Miles Davis to the concept of Jazz Rock by several years. You’d think they’d at least get some credit for that.
These are brave souls. And, while I have no evidence for where they hailed from, I’d have to guess California.
2. The Jelly Bean Bandits, Generation (Mainstream)
A New York group with an excellent full-length LP and - unlike their beguilingly sincere West Coast counterparts - a cultivated sense of irony. Which, I suppose, allowed them to freely mix UFO paranoia in with oblique commentary on the generation divide. Fine by me. It’s a loud 45, too, and what the Jelly Bean Bandits couldn’t articulate with free associations and wordplay, they put across with volume, feedback, and crashing reverb.
Note those weird pulses of organ vibrato, too. Wild! It’s from 1967.
3. Savage Resurrection, Thing in "E" (Mercury)
The Savage Resurrection took the hippie ethos of cultural secession and, with a throbbing beat and some whispers of “It’s better,” imbued it with a jaunty biker vibe all their own.
The fuzz guitars and the generally pleasant reek of drugs and juvenile reprobation remind me of some of the heavier Texas psychedelia of the late 1960’s. The Savage Resurrection was actually a Bay Area group, though - and they, too, had an entire full-length LP to their name.
1. The Things, Jazz-Rock With Soul (Ray Pro)We’re gonna play that new sound,
The sound of Jazz-Rock With Soul.
This is our music.
And it’s for generations now,
And the ones that follow.
Ah, young men. Young men, with their solemn proclamations and their maracas.
The Things succeed with a primeval form of garage-rock - if not with the more problematic concept of “Jazz-Rock With Soul.” Though their version of jazz basically translates into screaming organ solos and drum breakdowns, the Things still beat Miles Davis to the concept of Jazz Rock by several years. You’d think they’d at least get some credit for that.
These are brave souls. And, while I have no evidence for where they hailed from, I’d have to guess California.
2. The Jelly Bean Bandits, Generation (Mainstream)A New York group with an excellent full-length LP and - unlike their beguilingly sincere West Coast counterparts - a cultivated sense of irony. Which, I suppose, allowed them to freely mix UFO paranoia in with oblique commentary on the generation divide. Fine by me. It’s a loud 45, too, and what the Jelly Bean Bandits couldn’t articulate with free associations and wordplay, they put across with volume, feedback, and crashing reverb.
Note those weird pulses of organ vibrato, too. Wild! It’s from 1967.
3. Savage Resurrection, Thing in "E" (Mercury) The Savage Resurrection took the hippie ethos of cultural secession and, with a throbbing beat and some whispers of “It’s better,” imbued it with a jaunty biker vibe all their own.
The fuzz guitars and the generally pleasant reek of drugs and juvenile reprobation remind me of some of the heavier Texas psychedelia of the late 1960’s. The Savage Resurrection was actually a Bay Area group, though - and they, too, had an entire full-length LP to their name.
Labels: '60s Garage Bands
posted by DJ Little Danny at 11:47 PM
6 Comments:
I love that Jazz Rock With Soul, where d'you pick it up? Scouring the internet throws up no clues, I wannna copy!
I was lucky enough to find this lost gem in the TX junk shop wilds. As far as I know, it hasn't showed up on any garage compilations yet - definitely worthy of some sort of reissue, though. (Thanks for checking out Office Naps - very exciting, my first comment!)
No problem, it's great blog, well done, excellent tracks & good writing, that's what we want!
If I didn't know better, I'd swear "Jazz Rock with Soul" was Eric Burdon & the Animals
Savage Resurrection put out a reissue cd of their record about
6 yrs ago on via Mod Lang Records
Obert
PS
They have started playing again with three of the original memebers.
Obert
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